Laurie Patterson 2025 CIS Building Department of Computer Science University of North Carolina Wilmington 910.962.3906 (voice) 910.962.7457 (fax) pattersonL @ uncw.edu	Office Hours: Monday/Wednesday 1200-0200 Tuesday/Thursday 0100-0200 and by appointment Blackboard 9 select UNC Wilmington use email username (without @uncw.edu) and SeaNet user PIN (six digits)
Class Meeting Time: Tuesday and Thursdays 0930-1045 CIS 1006

 

	Ethics and Technology: Controversies, Questions, and Strategies for Ethical Computing Herman T. Tavani, Wiley, 2010 ISBN-10: 0470509503 ISBN-13: 978-0470509500 REQUIRED
	Writing for Computer Science, 2nd Ed. Justin Zobel, Springer, 2004 ISBN-10: 9781852338022 ISBN-13: 978-1852338022 REQUIRED
	The Elements of Style, 4th Edition. Strunk & White, Pearson, 1999 ISBN 0-205-30902-X.   Recommended

CSC 385. Professional and Ethical Issues in Computer Science (3) Prerequisite: ENG 101 or equivalent and junior or senior standing in computer science. Ethical and professional issues arising from the impact of computer science and related technologies on society. Topics include ethical issues, obligations of professional practice, privacy and security, intellectual property, work and health issues, and the impact of emerging technologies. Students give both oral and written presentations and participate in the discussion of case studies.

 At the conclusion of the course the student will be able to:

1. Identify ethical issues as they impact computer science and related disciplines; [WI2]
2. Differentiate between the main ethical theories and be able to use the ethical theories in evaluating the ethical issues impacting computer science and related disciplines. [WI5] [WI2]
3. Discuss ethical issues in writing, using appropriate reference to the established Code of Ethics of the professional society relevant to that student's field (ACM, IEEE, etc), and apply professional codes of ethics to analyze and resolve ethical questions. [WI5] [WI2]
4. Demonstrate the ability to write within the computer science discipline including writing one or more research papers that demonstrate the students grasp of ethical issues, display a clear understanding of how the ideas of other persons may be properly cited and used in written documents, and illustrate use of popular formats for presenting published papers in computer science. [WI3] [WI4]
5. Prepare and present information on a technical topic, in a professional manner.
6. Identify and locate appropriate sources of information to support decisions and written ideas. [WI1]
7. Analyze and evaluate arguments using rules of logic and be able to formulate effective arguments based on sound premises. [WI2] [WI4] [WI5]

Course Learning Objectives/Outcomes	Class Project Written	Small Written Assign	Class Project Present	Topic Presen	Resume	Midterm	Final
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Relation to program outcome: This course teaches the principles of ethical analysis and how technology, law, and ethics interact in society, to help the graduate confront and deal with the ethical challenges that arise in professional practice.

This course also improves the graduate's ability to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences, both technical and non-technical.   This course is used in part to assess CSC’s achievement of ABET General Criteria E, F, G, and H (An understanding of professional, ethical, and social responsibilities; An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences; An ability to analyze the impact of computing on individuals, organizations, and society, including ethical, legal, security, and global policy issues; Recognize the need for, and an ability to engage in, continuing professional development).

Academic Integrity:

University Policy on academic integrity will be followed for this course. Cheating will be taken very seriously, resulting in harsh penalties. Since the skills required in this class are also required in the next class, cheating in this class will seriously hamper your ability to pass the next class.

The University of North Carolina Wilmington is a community of high academic standards where academic integrity is valued. UNCW students are committed to honesty and truthfulness in academic inquiry and in the mastery of existing knowledge. This commitment begins when new students matriculate at UNCW, continues as they create work of the highest quality while part of the university community, and endures as a core value throughout their lives.

It is the responsibility of every faculty member, student, administrator and staff member of the university community to uphold and maintain the highest academic standards and integrity of the university. Any member of the university community who has reasonable grounds to believe that an infraction of the Honor Code has occurred has an obligation to report the alleged violation to the faculty member teaching the class who, in turn, must report the allegation to the Office of the Dean of Students. This obligation is a core value of the Honor Code, and must be fulfilled by each and every member of the university.

UNCW students affirm their adherence to the Honor Code by signing an Honor Pledge after enrolling at the university; thereafter, each student must conform to the Honor Code at all times. The absence of signing the pledge does not excuse students from their obligation to read, practice and be held accountable to the rules and spirit of the Honor Code. Students who observe or suspect an Honor Code violation are to notify the instructor in whose course the alleged infraction occurred.

Please follow the policies below:

Appropriate Collaboration

• Sharing class notes with another student.
• Discussing anything that was covered in class.
• Helping a fellow student locate a bug in his program, provided the following are true:
  •  You have already completed your program.
  • You never type or dictate code for the student.
  • You help with minor details, not solving the programming problem for him/her.

Inappropriate Collaboration (this is a partial list of examples only)

• Showing another student (who has not completed the assignment) your code.
• Copying code from another student.
• Verbally providing other students with the solution to the program. (This would be along the lines of giving them the key to solving the problem when they need to think it through themselves.)
• Helping other students during a test or quiz.
• Doing another student's work.

To succeed, do more of the programming challenges at the end of each chapter than are assigned!

Grades will be determined on the basis of students’ performance on the items shown in the table below.

COURSE ITEM	GRADE PERCENT
Small writing assignments (5 or 6)	20%
Formal Written Research Paper	20%
Formal Research Paper Presentation	10%
Presentation of an Ethical Issue	10%
Resume & Interview	10%
Midtern exam	10%
Final Examination + class Participation	20%

 

A modified 10-point scale will be used to compute your course grade. If your course score falls just below a cutoff, the higher grade may be assigned solely at the discretion of the instructor. Factors that affect this judgment are the distribution of grades, improvement during the semester, and attendance.

• A plus/minus system will be used to assign final grades using the following scale:

  	B+ 87-89	C+ 77-79	D+ 67-69
  A 93-100	B 83-86	C 73-76	D 63-66	F <60
  A- 90-92	B- 80-82	C- 70-72	D- 60-62

Incomplete grades are given rarely and only in very specific situations.

1. First, the student must be passing.
2. Next, the student must be able to complete the work of the course entirely on his or her own.
3. Finally, the student must be prevented from completing the course by verified, unforeseen circumstances beyond the control of the student.

These conditions must be documented and verified by both instructors before an incomplete grade may be given.

Assignments:

• Small writing assignments (about 5 or 6): 25% of grade.
  • These are assigned approximately one week before they are due. Expected length is 1000 words (about 4 pages of double-spaced 12- point type with 1-inch margins). These assignments will present the student with one or more readings addressing some current issue relating to ethics in technology or the impact of technology on society. The student will describe, evaluate and react to it in some way; supporting, critiquing, etc. These assignments are designed to help students hone their writing and evaluative skills.  
• Formal Written Research Paper: 10 % of grade.
  • The student will design and conduct a simple research assignment— for example, comparison of algorithms, analysis of spam email received, evaluation of software development tools or languages, etc. The assignment must gather and analyze data in order to answer some question. (There is no requirement the question be deep or even particularly difficult, but must be a serious question of interest.) The student will write up results in a manner consistent with submission for publication; that is, the write-up must include an abstract, introduction and discussion of the problem, explanation of how data was gathered, a summary of results, and discussion of what those results mean. Bibliographic references are required. This is a formal written paper with an expected length of about 2500 words, or 10 internal pages, (i.e. not including title page, bibliography, or charts/graphics) and 8-15 references. Formatting instructions for this paper will be provided by the instructor. Each student paper will be developed in an iterative manner that allows for instructor feedback and student updates as needed.  
• Formal Research Paper Presentation: 10 % of grade.
  • The student will make a presentation to the class on their research findings. The presentation will be evaluated by the instructor and by all students in the class. It is expected that the research will be completed prior to the presentation of findings. Formal attire is required for all presentations.    
• Presentation of Ethical Issues: 10% of grade.
  • Each student will make one or more class presentations on an ethical issue. Students are expected to read any relevant material in the course text and supplement the material in the course text by sourcing other material through their own research efforts. As with the Formal Research Paper Presentation, the presentation will be evaluated by the instructor and by all students in the class. The final grade, however, will be determined by the instructor.  
• Midterm exam: 10% of grade.  
• Final exam: 20% of grade.  
• Class participation: 10% of grade.
  • 5% of the grade is based on attendance, 5% on participation in class discussion. Repeated tardiness or absence will have an effect on course grade.
  • Regular class attendance is mandatory.
  • Completion of assignments will entail reading the textbook and researching various topics germane to the course.  A student may be required to lead class discussion based on a scheduled lecture topic. Expect to spend several hours researching and formulating each topics so you can lead a discussion group.    
• Resumé: 5% of grade.
  • In this assignment, you will create a résumé and letter of application that are geared toward a particular job advertisement or career fair event. You will use actual education and work-related information about yourself to create useful and realistic documents. This assignment will either help you to create a résumé and letter from “the ground up,” or it will help you to substantially improve documents that you have previously prepared.  
• Instructional Strategies:
  • Students are expected to have read course material before class. Class sessions will focus on discussion of readings and exploration of alternative views. Any changes to assignments or changes in deadlines will be posted on the course webpage, along with assigned readings or required Internet links.  
  • Last-minute or "breaking-news" readings may be distributed in class. This course makes heavy use of class discussion. You will be responsible for knowing what was discussed in class. You should not assume that doing the reading and showing up to class on test day will be adequate.  
  • This is a writing-intensive course. Students should plan on spending substantial time weekly on preparing and revising assignments for the course. Likewise, there is a comparatively large amount of reading to be done for this course. Students who are having problems with the course should see me after the first or second assignment, so we can develop a plan for successful completion of the course. Research takes time; writing takes time. Be sure to allocate enough!  
  • Late work is accepted only in documented cases of illness or other circumstance outside the student's control. Any other arrangements for late submissions must be made in advance. Any reconsideration of a grade must be requested within 5 working days after the grade is assigned.  
• Evaluation criteria:
  • No assignments are dropped.
  • The small writing assignments are intended as "practice writing" and will be graded relatively lightly; however, the formal research report and final paper are considered formal writing, and graded as such.
  • Draft submissions are used to provide feedback to students and are not graded. However, if the draft for the midterm or final are not turned in, the grade for the finished product will be penalized.
  •  Grading rubrics for assignments are posted on the course web page.
• Work Submission:
  • Assignments will be uploaded electronically as described on the course web page. Acceptable file formats, document layout, etc., will be discussed in class.  
• Academic Honesty:
  • All submissions are expected to be your original, individual work.
  • Departmental policy will be strictly followed in cases of suspected plagiarism or other academic dishonesty. More information is on the course web page. 
  • Due Dates for assignments will be announced in class and on the course web page.  
• Classroom Etiquette & Expectations
  • We expect students to be civil & respect their professors and classmates.
  • Be on time to class. If you are going to miss class tell the professor but be aware this does not excuse your absence.
  • Cell phones, pagers, etc. are not appropriate in the class room. Turn them off and put them away.
  • Side conversations are distracting to others. Don’t do it.
  • The classroom should have an environment of professional courtesy.
  • Intellectual discourse involves challenging ideas in a civil and respectful manner.
  • Respect the learning of others.

Deadlines
A due date will be specified for every assignment when it is distributed. Late assignments will not be accepted. If you have an emergency that interferes with your ability to attend class or to complete an assignment on time, let me know as soon as possible and as far in advance as possible. Do so before the due date has passed. Once the deadline has passed, I will likely be unable to offer you an extension.  

Blackboard is used for submitting assignments. Please note that Blackboard will cut-off accepting submissions by the due date and time. No late submissions will be accepted, period.

If you have a disability and need reasonable accommodation in this course, you should inform the instructor of this fact in writing within the first week of class or as soon as possible. If you have not already done so, you must register the Office of Disability Services in DePaolo (formerly Westside) Hall (ext. 2-3746) and obtain a copy of your Accommodation Letter. You should then arrange a meeting to make mutually agreeable arrangements based on the recommendations of the Accommodation Letter.

• UNCW Labs
  CIS is open evenings
• WebCT /Blackboard
• THE INSTRUCTOR!!!
• ACM SIG Proceedings Templates
• Ethics Student Companion Site

The Writing Center
The University Learning Center
DePaolo (formerly Westside) Hall
first floor, office #1056
910.962.7857  

All writers need readers, and the more readers you have while drafting a paper, the better your paper can become. The Writing Center provides experienced peer readers for all UNCW students as they develop and improve their writing skills.  The Writing Center is not remedial, but is designed for all student writers who want to improve their papers. Consultations are led by faculty recommended peer writing tutors who are trained to help students identify areas to improve and develop specific revision plans.  Visit our website to schedule an appointment: http://www.uncw.edu/writing.htm

Students can also receive electronic response to their developing papers through our Online Writing & Learning (OWL) program. Visit our website for a variety of writing resources: handouts, guides, useful links, and the Online Consultation link: http://www.uncw.edu/stuaff/uls/owl.htm  

Writing Center Hours:

•  Sunday: 2pm – 10pm
• Monday – Thursday: 9am – 10pm
• Friday: 9am – 5pm